Men's Basketball | 11/12/2025 9:55:00 AM

#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball is back in action this weekend in the Sooner state for a pair of games with Oklahoma based schools in Central Oklahoma on Friday and Northeastern State on Saturday. Minnesota Crookston was tabbed to finish 15th in the Northern Sun and seventh in the NSIC North. Head Coach Bryan Beamish heads into his fourth season at the helm of the Golden Eagles.

·   GOOD LUCK IN THE SOONER STATE. If Minnesota Crookston has success this weekend in Oklahoma, they might want to think about making it a yearly occurrence to visit Oklahoma. The last time the Golden Eagles played a pair of games in Oklahoma, they went 2-0, also against a pair of Oklahoma schools in wins over East Central and a two point win over Oklahoma Baptist on a three by Reid Grant in the closing seconds. That was the last time the Golden Eagles started 2-0, as well. Minnesota Crookston will look for some more luck this weekend in the state that Chandler Bing once (shortly) worked in.

• LOCAL TALENT. Bryan Beamish has made it a big emphasis to try and keep local stars local and in the maroon and gold. So far, so good. This year's Golden Eagles features a pair of local stars in sophomore Caiden Swenby and freshman Owen Chervestad. Swenby hails from Fertile, Minn., and led his Falcons to a state runners-up finish as a senior for the Falcons, while Chervestad led his Red Lake County Rebels to their first ever state tournament as a senior last year. Both could make an impact this year for the Golden Eagles and will have a ton of support all year long.

·  FAMILIAR NAME. Golden Eagle fans might recognize the last name of freshman Brady Westphal. Brady's brother, Zach, played for the Golden Eagles for four seasons and was a big part of the turnaround. Zach's best season came in his final season when he played in all 27 games, starting in six and averaging over five points per game. Now, the younger Westphal will look to make his mark on the Golden Eagles program.

·   PIECES TO THE PUZZLE.  Minnesota Crookston feels like they have all the pieces to compete and make some noise in the Northern Sun. With nine new pieces to the puzzle, it might take some time to complete the puzzle, but when and if they do, it could be a dangerous team in the maroon and gold. The Golden Eagles added a nice compliment of freshmen, JUCO transfers and NCAA transfers. Now, it's just about how long it takes for the pieces to all fit together.

·    SHOULD WE GO TO WASHINGTON? One of those newcomers is Alijah Washington. Washington is a Division II transfer from Cal State San Bernardino and spent a pair of seasons at Foothill College where he was an all-conference performer, averaging 15 points per game in two seasons. Washington should bring versatility and a scoring punch for the maroon and gold. His dad played for the legendary Bob Knight at Indiana.

·   WHERE WILL THE SCORING COME FROM? That question doesn't mean the Golden Eagles will necessarily struggle to score, but when a team loses six of their top seven scorers and the one top returner is out to start the season due to injury, it's a good question to ask. The highest returning scorer for the Golden Eagles is sophomore Landon Dimler, who averaged nearly four points per game in 27 games played. Dimler had the fourth most makes from deep a season ago and returns with the most makes from a season ago. Dimler is an ultra-talented offensive player and the Golden Eagles will look to him for another gear this season.

• FAST START MAY BE REQUIRED. Despite the newcomers, Minnesota Crookston will look for a fast start in an important month. Every team wants to start fast and with all but one game in the month of November on the road, the Golden Eagles will learn quickly what kind of team they have. In the month of November, the Golden Eagles also have an important conference game on the road with travel partner MSU Moorhead. The Golden Eagles would love a fast start to the season.

• BRAND NEW OPPONENTS. The Golden Eagles will be meeting a pair of teams this weekend for the first time in program history. Minnesota Crookston have never met Central Oklahoma or Northeastern Oklahoma on the hardwood. Both are quality programs and both should get the Golden Eagles ready for NSIC action.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 13-71 Season at UMC: 12th Season (Fourth as Head Coach)

Central Oklahoma Bronchos
Head Coach: Bob Hoffman
Record at UCO: 114-68  Season at UCO: 7th Season 

Northeastern State Riverhawks
Head Coach: Ja Havens
Record at NSU: 58-78  Season at NSU: 6th Season

Minnesota Crookston vs Central Oklahoma
Date: Friday, Nov. 14
Time: 5:00 P.M.
Place: Tahlequah, Okla. / NSU Event Center
Watch: https://www.themiaanetwork.com/nsugoriverhawks/
Stats: https://goriverhawksgo.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: These two teams have never met
Last Meeting: N/A

Minnesota Crookston @ Northeastern State
Date: Saturday, Nov. 15
Time: 4:00 P.M.
Place: Tahlequah, Okla. / NSU Event Center
Watch: https://www.themiaanetwork.com/nsugoriverhawks/
Stats: https://goriverhawksgo.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: These two teams have never met
Last Meeting: N/A

Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Projected Starters
Fr. F 1 Spencer Swenson (6-8, Sauk Rapids, Minn.)
Jr. F 10 Kazadi Mukoma, Jr. (6-8, Grand Island, Neb.)
Fr. G 2 Donez Lindsey (6-0, Stockton, Calif.)
R-Jr. G 15 Alijah Washington (6-4, San Bernardino, Calif.)
Fr. F 23 Brayden Carlson (6-9, Woodbury, Minn.)
Top Bench Players
Sr. G 3 GD Deng (6-4, Des Moines, Iowa)
Fr. G 11 Caiden Swenby (6-3, Fertile, Minn.)
So. G 20 Hunter Lorenson (5-11, Lake City, Minn.)
Jr. G/F 21 J.D. Roberts (6-6, Parkville, Mo.)
R-Jr. F 33 JQ Strong (6-7, Playa del Rey, Calif.)
Fr. G 12 Landon Dimler (6-5, Mankato, Minn.)
 
Central Oklahoma
Projected Starters
Sr. F 2 Josh Nwankwo (6-6, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 22.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG
Sr. F 4 Jacobi Sebock (6-7, Midwest City, Oklahoma) 14.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG
Jr. G 5 Marcus Zeigler, Jr. (6-1, Wichita, Kan.) 8.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Jr. F 21 Matthew Willenborg (6-7, Norman, Okla.) 9.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG
Jr. G 22 Parker Hannah (6-2, Keller, Texas) 6.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. G 12 Ben Averitt (6-6, Jenks, Okla.) 3.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG
So. G 15 Jack Robinson (6-1, Lubbock, Texas) 1.0 RPG
Fr. F 23 Brady Hancuff (6-7, Edmond, Okla.) 1.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Northeastern State
Projected Starters
Sr. G 4 Taven Washington (6-4, Frisco, Texas)
Sr. F 24 Keon Derry (6-6, Galesburg, Ill.)
Jr. F 33 Ethan Blackmon (6-7, Lewisville, Texas)
So. G 0 Dalen Fuller (6-4, Tulsa, Okla.)
Jr. G 1 Nehemiah Weber (6-2, Keller, Texas)

KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Central Oklahoma. The theme in head coach Bryan Beamish' tenure has been challenging the team in non-conference play. That continues this season as the Golden Eagles will open the season with Central Oklahoma on Friday and Northeastern State on Saturday. The Bronchos are one of a few teams in Division II to have played this season. UCO played in Canada the weekend of Halloween and went 1-2 in that tournament, with their lone win coming in their season opener; a 75-60 win over Simon Fraser. The Bronchos are coached by the legendary Bob Hoffman, who coached at Mercer from 2008-19 and led the Bears to one of the biggest upsets in recent tournament history in 2014, when his Mercer Bears defeated Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

BEAT YOU IN THE PAINT. If three games are any indication, the Bronchos are going to try and beat you within the three-point line. UCO doesn't shoot a lot of threes or make a lot of threes. Through their first three games, the Bronchos have shot just 40 from long range and have made just nine of those attempts, with five coming from Parker Hannah, who is 5-16 from long range. Coincidentally, in their lone win this season, they shot 2-19 as a team from deep, but they shot a season high 52 percent from the field, meaning they were 28-39 from inside the three-point line.

WOAH, JOSH. Senior forward Josh Nwankwo is going to be a handful this year for every single opponent. It's an early sample size, but the Oklahoma City native leads UCO in scoring (22.0), rebounds per game (7.3) and assists per game (4.0). Nwankwo has scored in double-figures in every game, including a career-high 28 points in a win over Simon Fraser. The Central Missouri transfer figures to be a big part of the offense this season.

TRANSFER HEAVY. Josh Nwankwo is a Division II transfer who has already made a massive impact for Central Oklahoma. He is just one of a few transfers for the Bronchos who should make an impact this season. UCO has three D-I transfers on their roster in Jacobi Sebock (Queens University), Sebastian Perry (Nebraska-Omaha) and JV Seat (Abilene Christian). Both Perry and Seat come from programs that have made the NCAA Tournament in recent years. Of those three, Sebock is the only player to play in a game this season, as the Queens transfer is averaging 14.7 PPG and more than six rebounds per contest.

Northeastern State. The Riverhawks and Golden Eagles will meet for the first time ever this Saturday in the NSU Events Center. NSU is coming off a 14 win season a year ago. Northeastern State is a tradition-rich program, winning the National Championship in 2003. That was the last time that NSU made the big dance.

NEW LOOK.  Much like the Golden Eagles, it will be a brand new look for Northeastern State this year and it could take a while for NSU to gel. The Riverhawks lose their top four scorers from a season ago and five of their top six scorers, with only Taven Washington returning to the fold after averaging 9.1 points per game in three starts and 28 games played. Coen Derry and Parker Hardage are back, but only played in 14 combined games last season.

X MARKS THE SPOT.  A newcomer that could make a large impact for the Riverhawks could be senior Xavier Glenn. Glenn, who heads into his final year and final spot during his college journey has been to a number of places. Glenn played a year at West Florida last season, playing in 17 games and before that, he was at Texas A & M Corpus-Christi prior to that. Before all those stops, Glenn was a JUCO All-American Honorable Mention at Connors State College.

SELECTED NINTH.  In the grand scheme of things, Preseason polls mean very, very little. The game is played on the court and not on paper. However, they do give people something to talk about. Northeastern State was selected to finish ninth in the MIAA, one of the best conferences in all of Division II. Whether that selection comes to fruition will be shown later on.